Rose Hill claims first district crown in 52-7 win over Kingwood

J. Ronald Oswalt

Published 6:00 pm, Monday, November 18, 2002

The Rosehill Christian High School Eagles entered their final game of the season, against the Kingwood Northeast Christian Warriors, on a mission. Both teams entered the game at Warriors Stadium at The Woodlands Christian Academy with 2-0 TAPPS district 5-2A records. The winner would claim the crown and a bye in the first round of the 6-man state playoffs. The Eagles dominated the Warriors in a 52-7 win to claim the school's first district crown.

Rosehill Head Coach Chris May said before the game, "I started coaching these kids in junior high and we have moved up together. It feels good to be successful at Rosehill."

The game was played on a sloppy and muddy field but that would not slow down Sam Kircus, who took the opening kickoff and raced for a 61-yard touchdown. The PAT by Kelley Foote was blocked but the Eagles took the early 6-0 lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter.

Coleman Gonzales and Wayne Compton made several key stops for the Eagle defense, which slowed Robert Goady of Kingwood. The Eagles stopped the Warriors on their possession at the 1-yard line, when Coleman Gonzales picked up a Warrior's fumble to put the Eagles back in business. Both teams' defenses stood tall, and the Eagles scratched out only a 6-0 lead after one quarter of play. Kelley Foote registered seven tackles in the first quarter alone.

Justin Garay put the Eagles back on the board on a 44-yard touchdown with 7:57 left in the first quarter. The 2-point PAT kick by Kelley Foote was good, to push the Rosehill lead to 14-0 in the second quarter. Wayne Compton put a massive hit on the Kingwood quarterback and Kelley Foote scooped up the loose ball and raced 11 yards for a touchdown, to push the lead to 20-0 with 7:32 left in the first half. The PAT kick by Foote was blocked.

The Eagles regained possession and Quarterback Andrew Garay connected with wide-open Kircus for a big 67-yard touchdown with 5:30 left in the second quarter. The PAT kick by Foote was good, to push the Eagles' lead to 28-0. The Eagles big play run and shoot offense scored 22 points in 2:27 of the second period to ice the Warriors.

Justin Garay and Brian Smelek made several key tackles during the second quarter shut down of the Warriors offense. The Eagles took the 28-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Eagles rang up 174 yards of offense in the first half. The defense was led by Foote with 13 tackles and Smelek and Justin Garay who rang up five tackles each in the first half.

The Eagles' Wayne Compton blocked the punt of Robert Goady to put the Eagles back in business at the 30-yard line at the 8:10 mark of the third quarter. On the next play, Kircus scored his second touchdown of the game on a 30-yard run to push the lead to 34-0. The PAT kick by Foote was good, for a 36-0 lead. In six-man football, all games are called if you have a 45 plus point lead at halftime or anytime after. The term for this is called "45ed them" and the Warriors were on the verge of this happening in the district championship.

But the Warriors drove against the Eagles and Cody Fowler scored on a 1-yard plunge with 3:58 left in the third quarter. A Travis Worden pass to Robert Goady for a 1-point conversion would make the score 36-7.

Justin Garay put the Eagles back in the scoring column with a 27-yard touchdown with 3:39 left in the third quarter. The PAT kick by Kelley Foote sailed wide left and the Eagles led 42-7. Wayne Compton was everywhere for the Eagle defense in the third quarter and he made several key stops for the Eagles.

Andrew Garay passed to Kircus for a 57-yard touchdown with 9:33 left in the game for a 48-7 lead. The PAT kick by Kelley Foote sailed wide left. The Warriors defense could not stop the passing or rushing of the Eagles. Andrew Garay was passed at will with the protection of big John Pennington.

Compton made another fourth down stop for Rosehill to put the offense back on the field. A short time later Sam Dickson raced for a 42-yard touchdown, and the Eagles 45ed the Warriors with 6:42 left in the game by a final score of 54-7.

Kingwood head coach Darrell Causey said, "Our effort was not there today, stopping the running of Rosehill was tough."

"We had great effort today. We were nervous at first, but we played well overall. Our backup tailback scored four touchdowns. We had to make several changes but this is a mature team. We are playing just right going into the playoffs. I would rather face Central Texas than Faith Pasadena in the playoffs. Central Texas plays a more disciplined brand of football," said Rosehill Head Coach Chris May.

The Eagles improved to 6-3 overall and 3-0 in district play after claiming the TAPPS district 5-2A crown. The Warriors of Kingwood Northeast Christian Academy drops to 5-6 overall and 2-1 in district play. The Warriors will also advance to the 2002 TAPPS playoffs.